Our customer wants to develop a highly customized GUI for Quiz authoring in Moodle and sell it as a commercial product to educational institutions. What is the best way to go about doing it?
Read the GNU General Public License carefully, then tell your customer that what they are proposing is illegal?
(I always like to be helpful
)
(I always like to be helpful
Is there any business model by which this could work?
I would be interested in building modules and plugins but have to be able to make money off it for it to be viable for me. Looking at the license it seems ok for me to do the following:
Offer a consulting service for $100 (service includes troubleshooting, training etc)
As a client you get the module for free
My clients obviously would be free to pass on the module to whomever they liked but the license doesn't state that if I make a module I must give it to anyone that asks for it (just that I can't charge for it directly). So I would say that I'm not charging for it but I am only giving it to existing clients of mine.
Would these assumptions be correct?
I would be interested in building modules and plugins but have to be able to make money off it for it to be viable for me. Looking at the license it seems ok for me to do the following:
Offer a consulting service for $100 (service includes troubleshooting, training etc)
As a client you get the module for free
My clients obviously would be free to pass on the module to whomever they liked but the license doesn't state that if I make a module I must give it to anyone that asks for it (just that I can't charge for it directly). So I would say that I'm not charging for it but I am only giving it to existing clients of mine.
Would these assumptions be correct?
Well, you must either
So, how can you make money while writing Moodle code (and plenty of people do). This is, of course, just the generic 'How do I make money while writing Open Source code' which is quite well documented on the Web. But, in summary
- distribute your module with a GPL licence, or
- be able to prove that your code does not copy any part of Moodle core code, nor the NEWMODULE template etc.
So, how can you make money while writing Moodle code (and plenty of people do). This is, of course, just the generic 'How do I make money while writing Open Source code' which is quite well documented on the Web. But, in summary
- You can find someone to pay you to develop the module in the first place. That is, do contract development.
- You can offer an ongoing support, training, etc. service.
- You can offer to further custom development services to add new features.
- If you really insist, you could write a Moodle module (that you must open-source) that allows Moodle to link to a separate proprietary system, like the Elluminate module for Moodle, and try to make all your money from the other system.
Thank you for your prompt reply.
First off, yes, I would distribute my modules with a GPL licence.
I've just read the license and I'm not quite sure on the advertising bit.
If I've got a website for the modules I make and Moodle isn't mentioned anywhere except in the requirements section, something along the lines of:
"This module works on Moodle 1.9 or above"
Do I need permission for this?
(I plan to ask for permission anyway but was just interested.)
First off, yes, I would distribute my modules with a GPL licence.
I've just read the license and I'm not quite sure on the advertising bit.
If I've got a website for the modules I make and Moodle isn't mentioned anywhere except in the requirements section, something along the lines of:
"This module works on Moodle 1.9 or above"
Do I need permission for this?
(I plan to ask for permission anyway but was just interested.)
No, absolutely no problem with that. Nor with any Moodle-compatible addons you wish to produce and even sell.
The trademark mostly applies to generic Moodle services.
So if you had a site called "Moodle development 4 U" and you offered 'Moodle customisation services' on it to anyone who came along, then it would require checking with moodle.com/helpdesk.
The trademark mostly applies to generic Moodle services.
So if you had a site called "Moodle development 4 U" and you offered 'Moodle customisation services' on it to anyone who came along, then it would require checking with moodle.com/helpdesk.
Cheers Martin.
Thanks for clarifying that.
Thanks for clarifying that.
Well, you must either
* distribute your module with a GPL licence, or
* be able to prove that your code does not copy any part of Moodle core code, nor the NEWMODULE template etc.
Given that Moodle is licensed as GPLv2 (or later option), there's a third alternative. GPLv2 doesn't restrict use (it's even explicitly stated), but copying and distribution. So as long as you don't distribute your modified Moodle, you don't need to provide the source code for your modifications at all.
This means you can use it in-house or let others use it, i.e., provide it as a service (hosted solutions, cloud computing anyone?) without you needing to open source your modifications/enhancements.
"Fixing" this "loophole" (among others) is what Affero GPLv2 (and later) and GPLv3 are about.
Saludos. Iñaki.
"Fixing" this "loophole" (among others) is what Affero GPLv2 (and later) and GPLv3 are about.nitpick: The "ASP loophole" is what the Affero GPLv1 and GNU Affero GPLv3 are about. There is no Affero GPLv2, and GPLv3 doesn't try to deal with this loophole.
Respondus does this by writing out the quiz questions in IMS QTI, and then giving the Moodle quiz import plug-in away free. Hotpotatoes does something similar by making the interface between Moodle the Hotpot module GPL, while the Hotpotatoes tool itself is not GPL.
Many other companies do something similar.
I also hear frequently that a particular company's product can't or won't interface with Moodle because the GPL would force it to surrender it's IP - this impression can make it harder for Moodle to spread in environments where closed source code is the norm. So it is certainly doable, and in fact by the same sort of product to product interface (often standards based XML or webservices) that closed source products interact with each other.
Many other companies do something similar.
I also hear frequently that a particular company's product can't or won't interface with Moodle because the GPL would force it to surrender it's IP - this impression can make it harder for Moodle to spread in environments where closed source code is the norm. So it is certainly doable, and in fact by the same sort of product to product interface (often standards based XML or webservices) that closed source products interact with each other.
We were told this by a particular publisher recently. It was quite frustrating. Is there any way that would satisfy them so we can use their question banks in our system?
So does this mean I need a completely separate product?
Or could I write a module that requires a set of libraries. The module is free but you have to buy the libraries?
I would like the product to integrate as much as possible to be as user friendly as possible.
Or could I write a module that requires a set of libraries. The module is free but you have to buy the libraries?
I would like the product to integrate as much as possible to be as user friendly as possible.